Different incentives for inducing seat belt usage by drivers or vehicle occupants are known, for instance by legislation or by mounting of indicators for giving notice to vehicle occupants that they should wear a seat belt. These known types of incentives have not proven to be sufficiently efficient to encourage all drivers to use seat belts while driving.
A further suggestion for an apparatus and a method for inducing a vehicle occupant to use a seat belt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,955 to Howard. The Howard patent discloses an apparatus and a method where power to Occupant Comfort Units is disconnected if a person is present in a seat and is not wearing a seat belt. An Occupant Comfort Unit includes such facilities as stereo, radio, cigarette lighters, electrically controlled heating or air conditioning. However, the Howard patent apparatus is most efficient when the vehicle is standing still, since this is when Occupant Comfort Units are most commonly set and appreciated. The fact that the incentive system of the Howard patent forces the occupant to use the seat belt before driving creates an opportunity to tamper with the system.